NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Published by JOHN B. RUSSELL, at the coiner of Congress and Lindall Slrfcls. (Four doors from the Post OfTice) Boston.— THOMAS G. FF.SSENDKN, Fditor. 



VOL. III. 



FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1!!2.'3. 



No. M. 



©rtgCiial Commumcntious. 



T. G. Fessende.v, Esq. 



EdiloT of lilt jVfw England Farmer. 



PASTURES. 



IFolpulc, JV. 11. April 2, 1025. 

 Sm, — It is now a genoral opinion and I 

 Relieve a well founded one, tlint old jnisttirep, 

 if tlioy have been well used, and are in good 

 condKion, arc belter tlian new ones. The rea- 

 son of it I lake to be Ihi?. The dllTeretit Idnd^ 

 of grass are numerous and spring up and come 

 10 inalurity at very dllTerenl times. In new pas- 

 tures ihere are one or t\vo dilTerent kinds, and 

 by being fed down as soon as they come up and 

 being kept short, the growlh of the grass is 

 checked, and no other kinds spring up in suffi- 

 cient quantities lo supply' their place. But in 

 old pastures the different kinds oi' grass natural 

 to the soil have been inlroduced, antl when one 

 is consumed, the others grow up to supply its 

 place, the constant rotation tlius produced, at 

 all times gives sufficient nutriment to the ani- 

 mals pastured u|ion it, if it is not overstocked. 

 But in order thai this system should have ils 

 effect, judicious management is necessary. If 

 ihe cattle arc turned into it too early in the 

 spring, ihey eat olT that which first comes up 

 before it has grown large enough to afford any 

 shelter to the succeding crop, and that in if? 

 turn falls before the hungry cattle. The roots 

 of the grass are laid bare and are scorched » hI 

 \T;iherecl by the heat of the sun in midsnmmer; 

 the more nutritious kinds of grass are elfeclu- 

 ally killed out, and nothing liut a miserable 

 crop ofsic'kly and wiry spear grass, which Ihf 

 cattle will almost sooner starve than eat, is lefi 

 to bear witness to the injudicious managemfnt 

 oflhe husbanilman. In this way in a few years 

 many excellent pastures are ruined. 



it is undoubtediv the best economy in the 

 farmer to buy hay, if necessary, tn kee|i his 

 cattle till the grass has fairly started in the 

 spring, rather than to turn them out to gain a 

 poor living at the expense in the end, of ile- 

 slroying his pasture, which is perhaps in such 

 a situation that it cannot be plot)ghed, and is 

 thus forever lost. A YEOMAN. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mr Fessendpn, — The following recipe may be 

 relied on, as it is confirmed by experience. 



Connecticut. DORCAS. 



TO make yeast that will keep six months. 



Boil ^Ib. hops in two gallons soft water ; when 

 boiled 1-2 an hour, add 1 table spoonful of salt, 

 1-2 pint of molasses, 2 quarts rye meal, 1 -2 pint 

 good common yeast, let it stand fill it ferments, 

 (hen stir in Indian meal lill if is as hard as it can 

 be made, then roll it to about the thickness ol 

 hair an inch and cut it in pieces of 2 «r 3 inches 

 dianifter, lay it on a board, and dry it in the sun, 

 or in a warm room. When it is wanted for use 

 soak it in warm waler, or pound it i5ne. 1 have 

 used yeast made as above for live years, and pre- 

 fer it to any other kind. 



FOR THE NEW ENOLAND FARMF.R. 



HOW TO MAKE A CHEAP SHEEP RACK, WHICH TS BET- 

 TER THAN THE OLD FASHIONED EXPENSIVE ONES. 



Drive stakes into the ground at the distance 

 I of about fen feet one way, and eighteen the oih- 

 1 er — lay doivn boards, or slabs for the bottom, a 

 I small distance from the ground ; nail a board one 

 I foot wide on each side , put on a strip of board 

 I 5 inches wide, near three feet from the ground ; 

 'nail on slats leu inch.es wide perpendicular, and 

 about eighteen inches apart from centre to cen- 

 tre ; put l)nards on the top to keep off the wet. 

 1 observe thai many farmers fodder their sheep 

 on the ground. I think the hay ihey waste in one 

 winter would more than j>ay for a cheap rack. 

 If straw is xise.il nnhj for litter., it is well to cut 

 it several limes if you wish to save labor in load- 

 ing the manure. One man with an axe (if you 

 have no cutting machine) could cut a load iti a 

 few minutes. 



To mako cattle eal poor hay, mix it well with 

 good on the barn floor, and give it them. 

 Jihford, Con. C. 



TO THE EDITOR 01'' TUB NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



DESTRUCTION OF CROWS. 



Gloucester., April 4, 1825. 

 Mr Fessenden, — The time is now apptoarh- 

 ing when the farmers will plant Ibe-r corn; and 

 I [presume they do not need to be informed that 

 the crows and blackbinls are great (i!'[iredalors 

 upon their crops, both in the first and latter pari 

 of the season. I would wish to exK^nninale the 

 whole race of them, and I think Ihe following 

 idan, if generally attended to, will be elfectual, 

 I have practised it many years, and I am confi- 

 dent with success. 



Take a handt'ul of hair from the mane or fail 

 of a horse — thread them singly into a necille — 

 draw them through the eye or chit oflhe corn, 

 leaving in it Ihe whole length oflhe hair — and 

 ifler Ihe field is planted, scatter a small qunntity 

 of this corn thus prepared over the surface of 

 Ihe iiclil not in a large quantity at any one place, 

 but let it appear as if by accident (for these dep- 

 redators have a wonderful share of sao-acity). — 

 If a crow or a blackbird once gels a kernel thu« 

 (irepared into their throat, Ihey will never want 

 another. The hair keeps such a continual irri- 

 tation in the throat, that they will soon destroy 

 themselves. 



Should this method be generally pursued, I 

 am confident that we should come near to ex- 

 terminating them. 



The children of a family can easily prepare a 

 (lint or a quart of corn in this way. and after Ihe 

 field is planted, a short time is sufficient to strew 

 it on the ground; and much time will be saved, 

 instead of (danfing corn over again, which sel- 

 dom comes to much. Yours, trulv, 



GLOUCESTER. 



[remarks by THE EDITOR.] 

 We have known the method of destroyinj^ crows and 

 blackbirds recommended by our correspondent, adopt- 

 ed, and we believe it had its desired effict. Bat it ever 

 appeared to us to be a practice which is hardly sanc- 



tioned b| the laws of humanity. We doubt whether it 

 would bjpossililc, by aiiy process which could be in- 

 vented, I* inflict more severe tortures on tl est feather- 

 ed bipeds, than that which is above described. Some 

 epicures have roa«ted geese alive, before a slow fire, 

 fur Ihe purpose of enlarging^ their livers, and makin; 

 them proper viands for those who are " exquisite in 

 their eating," and this practice has been severely rep- 

 robated by moralists, and others who lliink that the 

 code of mercy extends to every part of animated na- 

 ture. Besides, we doubt the policy as well as the hu- 

 manity of destroying crows and blackbirds, if it could 

 be effected by a wish. They sometimes injure the 

 farmer by pulling up a few hills of corn, but they ben- 

 efit him much more by destroying worms and other in- 

 sects. And therff are other means of preserving Indian 

 corn not only I'rosi birds, but from worms, which we 

 believe are more ctftctual than the above mentioned, 

 and liable to no objeclion. If the seed corn i.s steeped in 

 a strong solulinn of salt petrc, or of Indian poke-weed, 

 or refuse tobacco,or "if the seed (says the Farmer's As- 

 sistant) be smeared all over with tar and then have 

 ashes or gypsum sprinkled on it sufficient to render it 

 fit for handling, and then be planted, neither birds nor 

 squirrels will touch it. In this case, however, it is ne- 

 cessary to soak it sufficiently to make it vegetate ; as 

 without this the coat of tar will keep out tne moisture, 

 and prevent the seed from sprouting." S. W. Pome- 

 roy Esq. in an able essay on the cultivation of Indian 

 corn, i» the Mass. Agricultural Repository, vol. ri. 

 No. 2, says, " Take equal parts of tar and train oil, 

 simmf them^togethcr and thrn over the corn; then 

 sift on ashes, lime or plaister, stirring it till each kernel 

 has taken up as much as will permit its being conven- 

 tly handled." In using this preparation, however, it 

 will be safest to steep the corn in pure water previous 

 to the application of the tar and the train-oil. We 

 believe that seed corn prepared in either way above 

 mentioned would not suit the palates either of birds 

 squirrels or insects. 



FOR THE HEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



LINSEED OIL. 

 Boiled Linseed oil has been found to be an 

 excellent polish for stove pipes, that are not ex- 

 posed to loo great a degree of heal ; and espe- 

 cially forrusfv ones. It may be applied with a 

 brush wh(?n the iron is a little warm, but not so 

 hot as lo burn Ihe oil. A very small quantity 

 will cover the iron, forming when dry, a hard, 

 black shining surface. As to durability, it has 

 been tested by the experience of only two 

 months. A question may arise whether it does 

 not hurt the conducting power of the iron 

 causing it to give out less heat ; but the writer 

 of this believes it does not. — Communicated hy 

 a gentleman in Walpole, JV. H. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ESGliAND FARMER. 



Middlesex County., March 12, 1824. 

 Mr. Fessenden — After perusing several of 

 your useful papers, 1 ask leave to make a few 

 observations on the same. 



Respecting Warts., having had one on the 

 fore finger joint for thirty years, say three 



